This season has been nothing short of a roller coaster, on fire, in a hurricane — but Texas managed to rise from the flames every time. From questionable referee calls to scraping by opponents on a field goal, Texas showed college football fans how versatility makes all the difference. Seeing how far the program has come this season alone suggests that head coach Steve Sarkisian and his team are more than prepared to face a tough SEC conference next year.
In his postgame press conference after a hard-fought win against Iowa State, Sarkisian commented on the fact that his team three years ago didn’t have the same experience in Ames.
“We were here three years ago, and this was a tough scene, and I think that was the moment when the program started to change after that,” Sarkisian said. “So to come back, kind of on our farewell tour, and to get some redemption here is a big one.”
For a coach who has been with such a demanding, big-name program for only three years and managed to bring them from a 5–7 team to a now 10–1 team, speaks volumes about where he’s headed.
But Sarkisian credits the team’s investment in its culture throughout the years, highlighting that his players have been able to form a bond with each other that only extends their potential for success.
“Our guys play with love for one another,” Sarkisian said. “They’re not just competing together, they’re brothers.”
And the boys will need to take that motivation to a whole other level going up against Texas Tech as they look to cap off a historic season.
In what will likely be the last dance between two teams that have despised each other for years, even though Texas Tech seems to have a bit more spite against Texas, the Longhorns’ final stop on its Big 12 farewell tour will be one heck of a send-off. Going up against a team notorious for giving Texas a run for its money will be the perfect way for the Longhorns to prove their readiness for the road ahead.
However, as we’ve seen before, an unranked opponent doesn’t always warrant a cake walk. Even though the Red Raiders have been inconsistent all season, losing to programs like West Virginia and BYU, but gaining wins over Houston, TCU and Kansas, they still boast an aggressive team under head coach Joey McGuire.
In light of the tension formed between Iowa State offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford and Texas’ own Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat, I feel it’s only appropriate to reminisce on Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s comments that he made back in late August before the season began; Yormark publicly told McGuire to “take care of business” against the Longhorns in their last regular season game.
What’s even better about it is that Sarkisian immediately answered, in the sportsman-like way that he does, with a simple, “I’m not guessing that he’s going to be having his Thanksgiving dinner with us the night before that game,” during a Week 1 press conference.
If we learned one thing from Texas’ matchup against Iowa State, it’s that you don’t poke the bear. The Longhorns have the opportunity to once again turn the discouragement into a reason to give it their all, and I’m fairly certain that they won’t tread lightly upon the Red Raiders when given the chance.
